Kauffman Firm Survey (KFS) Seventh Follow Up Methodology Report

Although entrepreneurship is crucial to a capitalist economy, little information is available on U.S. businesses in their first years of operation. To gather more data on new businesses in the United States, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation sponsored the Kauffman Firm Survey (KFS), a panel study of businesses founded in 2004 and tracked during their early years of operation. The KFS collected data on (1) the nature of new business formation; (2) the characteristics of the strategy, offerings, and employment patterns; (3) the financial and organizational arrangements of these businesses; and (4) the characteristics of those who own and operate the businesses. With the completion of the Seventh Follow-Up Survey, the KFS has collected this information from a panel of diverse businesses over eight years, providing a unique look at business dynamics in this formative period